The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1887-04-22
LlFE IN MEXICO.

LIFE IN MeXlCO.
Some Of the Queer Characters to He Sees
ON the streets Of Mexican Cities.
In no other country. in no other city
can be seen as in Mexico such close
juxtaposition Of splendor and squalOr,
of progress and semi-barbarism. Of p0-
tential wealth and actual poverty, OF
the old and the new. the high and the
low. Of culture and abject ignorance.
On the upper levels Of house may live
a family in opulent circumstances, en-
lowed with all the graces. material and
spiritual, Of aristocracy and refinement,
while the ground floor is given up ia
petty shops, work rooms, perhaps 4
cheap restaurant. or that most undesir.
able Of neighbors, a pulQueria, wher~
the lower classes resort to bcfudtl]e
themselves with the whey-colorHd
juice of the maguey. Rubbing her
grimy elbows against the rich laces
and silks Of the proudest and most
aristocratic of fashionable danes may
be seen the brown Indian woman. frow-
~ headed. with basket of fruit or fish
upon her head, and another in her arms,
while child is strapped to her by
means of the tightly knotted blanket.
She is barefoot, and her sole raimcnt,
besides the huiril aforesaid. which is a
bit of narrow blanket, perhaps yard
and half long, with slit in the CEN
ter to 60 over the head, is brief scant
skirt. like bag. of the same. coarse,
dark fabric. The huipilis the upper
garment worn by the Aztec women at
the time of the conquest, and it still
obtains with the lower or,lers in the
south of Mexico. being also used for a
robe dc chamb,'e or night dress, made
of linen and ornate in finish. by the
ladies of Yucatan.
The lottery ticket sellers in Mexico
are strong guild, for the business is
profitable one. The lotteries are con.
Quoted by the Government, and the
ticket-venders are paid a liberal per-
centage of their sales. Men. women
and children recruit the ranks; they
are found everywhere. They have no
distinctive features. save the great
budget of flimsy, translucent tickets
which they try to force upon the passer-
by. and their scissors for cutting of
coupons. Several prominent journals
of the United States have lately printed
the remarkable statement that ''all the
newsbOys of Mexico are women, who
never cry their papers. but silently hold
them toward the passer." The chrOn-
icler of that error had in mind these
sellers of lottery tickets, the large
printed sheets of which do somewhat
resemble newspapers. 1t is safe to
"gamble on" the proposition that
there is not woman peddling news
papers in Mexico. The newsboys are
men and lads who cry their papers
and suggestion of their contents
with true professional wells. They
urge their wares pertinaciOusly. thrust
ing them through the windows of
coaches and tramcars and invading
the latter if they can elude the conduc-
tors vigilance. The ayuadores Or pub
lie water-carriers are picturesque and
characteristic sights. They wear
species of leather harness. breast-plate,
back-shield and apron. and fiat cap
usually of straw served with leather.
On the back, suspended by broad
leather band crossing the forehead
rests an eartiern jar with three han
dies. odd in shape. called chochocol,
and from another strap farther back
on the head depends the jarra. another
earthenware vessel shaped like pitch
er. In these utensils is carried from
the public fountains water for domestic
use in such houses as have no piped
water supply. 1t is noticeable that
these men all have flattened heads, as
may well be, when their craniums are
subjected to almost constant pressure
and the weight of some ten gallons Of
water.-C,ty Of Nerico Cor. San Fran
cisco Chronicle.